Sean Cassidy woke up in a cold sweat. He was glad that he slept in a private cottage. Otherwise, he would’ve wakened the others with his screams. “Blasted nightmares will nae give me a moment’s peace!” He got out of bed and walked to the kitchen. There was nothing but scones and leftover pizza in the fridge. He decided on one of the scones for a snack. “Better’n eating bread and melted cheese,” he muttered as he sat down.

He’d just bitten into the scone when he heard soft footsteps behind him. Building up one of his trademark sonic screams, Sean begin to turn around.

“Mr. Cassidy?” a gentle voice asked.

Sean stopped in mid-scream as he quickly recognized his midnight visitor. “Paige?! What are ye doing here?”

She could already see that he was upset. Something that might’ve been a tear formed in the corner of her right eye. “Ah’m sorry ta bother ya, sir, but Ah had a horrible nightmare and couldn’t go back ta sleep.”

Sean blinked in surprise. Not because Paige was here, in his private cottage, but because of what she was (or wasn’t) wearing. From what he could see (and there was a lot to see), she was wearing a see-through nightgown, with some sort of robe draped around it. Of course, it didn’t serve much purpose, since the robe itself was see-through as well. Thankfully, her long, blonde hair fell over her shoulders and kept him from staring at her chest.

“Well, have a seat and join the club, lass,” Sean said, running a hand through his ruddy hair. Paige slowly sat down across from him. “Scone?” he asked, offering the half he hadn’t eaten.

She shook her head and smiled. “No thanks.” An uneasy silence followed.

“So, what is it I can do for ye, lass?” he finally asked.

Paige sighed. “Are you any good at interpreting nightmares?”

Sean shook his head. “Can’t say I am, Paige, but I’m always willing to listen. Talking about these things is supposed to be helpful.”

She nodded. “Okay. In the dream, I’m sitting in a field of yellow flowers with my family. All of a sudden, for no reason, the flowers just start to wilt and die. Then my family starts to disappear, until only Sam is left.” She paused and swallowed nervously.

“Naturally, Ah turn to Sam and ask what’s going on. Ah mean, he’s mah big brother, and he’s always protected me since we were kids. But he doesn’t answer. He just stares at me with these dull, dead eyes. Then everything just goes black.” She stopped and looked up at him, blinking away tears. “Every time Ah try to sleep, Ah see those eyes and they scare me half to death. Now Ah can barely close mah own eyes without seeing them.”

Sean stared at his young student with great concern. “I understand why you’re upset, lass. What I dinnae understand is why ye came to me.”

Paige sniffled and wiped her eyes. “Ah couldn’t go to the others; they’d just be mad that Ah woke them. Ms. Frost might...well...she wasn’t my first choice. Besides, you’re the only one here that reminds me of mah Daddy.”

Though he knew she’d meant it as a compliment, the hurt registered in his eyes. Sean had never completely forgiven himself for missing his own daughter’s childhood. On the other hand, Paige’s father had died while working in a mine. Now she was asking him to serve as a replacement, and Sean feared he didn’t have the qualifications she was looking for. Still, he wouldn’t fail another child, not again.

“Tell ye what, lass,” he said absently, staring at the half-eaten scone in his hand. “If ye think it will help, ye can stay here tonight. But in the morning, we’re going to see about getting ye a therapist.”

Paige smiled a bit. “You’d do that for me?”

He nodded. “Aye, lass. You’ll have to sleep on the couch, though. I’ll not have the others jumping to wild conclusions about what you’re doing here in the morning.”

Paige ran over to him and threw her arms around his neck. “Thank you so much, Mr. Cassidy!”

Sean patted one of her arms. “You’re welcome, lass. Now get some sleep.”

She smiled again and kissed his forehead, just before disappearing into the next room.

* * * * *

Angelo Espinosa couldn’t remember what had happened when he came to. There was an incredible pain in his neck, and someone was dragging him along the carpeted floor. He glanced up, just barely recognizing the person as Gaia. She appeared to be heading towards Monet’s room, at the end of the hallway. Sure enough, Gaia pushed the door open and walked in.

Angelo ignored the pain long enough to get a good look at the bed. The first person he noticed was Emma Frost. She was lying across Monet’s bed, her lifeless body pale and stiff. There was a large red stain near her waist.

“Caramba!” Angelo whispered.

Gaia glanced down. “Oh, you’re awake.” Her tone was cold and impassive at the same time. She tossed him onto the bed.

Despite the pain in his neck, Angelo managed to sit up and look around. Everett stood beside the bed, staring into space. Jubilee stood in front of him, her head resting lightly against his chest. Angelo noticed a dark red smear on the side of her mouth, but decided to stay quiet for his own good. It was then that he noticed Monet.

If Angelo hadn’t seen Monet and the twins switch places, he would’ve sworn that Monet had gone into a catatonic trance again. But it was Monet that sat there, her eyes trained on Emma’s body. She was either terrified from the sight or the three vampires that stood around her.

Gaia noticed Angelo looking at Emma. “She resisted,” the girl said simply, as if that explained everything. It made sense to take out Emma first, though. She’d probably sensed them a mile away. But how they managed to get past her defenses was beyond even Angelo. Then again, he wasn’t going to ask them. They might’ve want to use him as an example.